Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Hello, I Am Ginseng!

If asked to name the most famous merchant in Joseon, a hundred out of a hundred Joseon people from eighty-year-old elders to three-year-old children would name only one person’s name.

Im Sangok.

A legendary merchant who monopolized ginseng trade and earned terrifying wealth, and even experienced the life of a third-rank official that was close to impossible in Joseon at this time.

His era that once enjoyed wealth and glory comparable to the king is now ending.

He who took the lead in charity from middle age, as he entered the stage of finishing life in old age he was even more generously donating money without sparing and putting down wealth and instead gaining honor.

But even he who wanted to tie the knot of life with just doing field farming in the backyard and drinking singing and composing poetry.

“Elder. Please help just once!”

“No... what on earth can this old man do.”

“Please! If not elder we have no answer!”

“The yangban sirs who were busy receiving money whenever they opened their mouths are all tightly closing those proud mouths!”

“Hehe... Did I help the yangban expecting compensation? If harboring such an improper heart it won’t last long.”

“How urgent must we be to do this? Please help a bit!”

Since old connections flocked in groups and clamored there was no choice.

What on earth is the matter, that famous <​Westerner prodigy> returned to Joseon bringing an enormous large ship and brought all sorts of local products from necessities to luxury goods like cotton cloth, water buffalo horn, sugar, pepper, gunpowder, sulfur, coffee beans, chocolate etc. didn’t he.

“That with one ship?”

“Yes.”

“Heo... Do Westerners have interest in rice or beans?”

“No way.”

“So you all flocked in threes and fives.”

What else is there as Joseon’s products that even barbarians from distant across the sea would covet besides ginseng?

However since the quantity of ginseng is ultimately fixed, won’t the court guys as always conclude with ‘hey, just hand it over’.

Of course the court won’t just wipe the mouth and eat it intact, but the tribe called merchants is not a category that can be satisfied with only the crumbs left after high-ranking people eat. Guys who would be satisfied with just that can’t even come to meet Im Sangok.

“What do you want?”

“If the country permits trade, shouldn’t our Song merchants join together?”

“If it’s a problem about ginseng of course it’s the jurisdiction of the Man merchants.”

“If not careful the Gyeonggang merchants might monopolize Westerners’ objects!”

Rights.

The smell of enormous rights.

How much is just the tip these merchants scatter to follow the Qing envoy path.

But that tip is nothing once they arrive in Yanjing and sell ginseng, and just buy Qing’s objects with the ginseng price.

Moreover the atmosphere itself going around right now was not welcome to these merchants.

Why does the country extort ginseng?

Wouldn’t it be enough if they just allow buying the list that Westerner boy brought by giving red ginseng?

Im Sangok caught the desire and dissatisfaction that everyone would be reciting the same inside though he couldn’t say it and nodded.

“I will put in a word once and meet the court officials... if possible meet that Westerner boy.”

“Thank you!”

“But don’t have much expectation. Now I am just a powerless old man.”

If it’s something Im Sangok can’t do anyway even if they all stick it won’t work at all.

The merchants just bowed their heads saying thank you and got up from their seats one by one.

It was then.

“But speaking of.”

One young merchant quietly brought up words amid the noisy while everyone was getting up.

“From what this lowly one vaguely heard, in Westerners’ countries even kings and ministers and generals all do merchant or factory work.”

“...Who said that?”

“Rumor, nothing more than a heard rumor. But that Westerner boy was also said to be a son of a noble house with high learning and outstanding talent, but didn’t he become a merchant and come to Joseon now?”

“Don’t recklessly chatter anywhere.”

The merchants gathered here are mostly Song merchants or Man merchants.

In other words Gaeseong or Uiju.

The region commonly called ‘northwest’.

People of a place where antipathy toward the Joseon court has accumulated layer by layer enough for Hong Gyeongrae’s Rebellion to break out just a few decades ago.

They tightly attached words like ‘vain rumor’ or ‘because they are unlearned Westerners’ in front like a tail with their mouths.

But the rumor about the Westerner country where merchants are soon nobles could not be forgotten from all their minds no matter how they tried.

***

My grand plan to connect Joseon with the world market.

Other big-nosed guys still don’t even know Joseon’s strengths and weaknesses let alone what kind of country Joseon is.

And the Joseon people living on this land don’t know that their future is a crazy ending of becoming slaves of the Japanese for the first time in Korean history after endless exploitation.

Only I know.

If one adds Park In-ho’s IQ 150 and Arthur Lee’s IQ 200 the total is 350. With this intelligence and future knowledge there is no lack to manage the world and rise as a talent to assist the king.

- Are you Xun Yu?

Xun Yu was stupid and died not knowing rice stuck to the lunch box lid. A smart person like me licks even the yogurt lid so there is no way to die like that.

Because of that, even when a famous person came to find me I was not particularly surprised.

“Nice to meet you. This lowly one is Im Sangok.”

“Elder. Why do you bow your head to me? A person who even held a high official post must not do this.”

Look. Where is this the etiquette of a big-nosed barbarian? Isn’t it a perfect Joseon style Three Bonds and Five Relationships master?

Speaking of Im Sangok a character who was once a drama protagonist. Moreover because he is a rare ‘merchant’ character in Korean history there was even a time when novels dealing with Im Sangok were almost required reading level for salesmen like me.

Hmm. Thinking again media is really amazing. Even when I was attending school when <​War of Money> was popular there were kids who wrote loan shark in future hopes and got hit by the teacher, and when <​Donguibogam> hit 50% viewership traditional medicine departments across the country burst.

Because of that the fact that this Im Sangok is the protagonist of that famous event, <​Qing ginseng burning show> remained too vividly in my mind.

“I also heard elder’s great name well. I don’t know how much I marveled hearing that there was a merchant who made wealth of course and character and honor in Joseon land.”

“Hehe. Giving such gold plating to this old man’s face. It seems you want a lot.”

As expected.

That’s why discussing between people who do business is fast and good.

“What do you want?”

“You might not know, but ginseng is a very mysterious thing that easily spoils and loses its medicinal effect. We also know the advantages when trading ginseng by sea because of that but are not easily doing it.”

- Hey. Hey hey. It’s a big problem? If ginseng all becomes balloon flower you go bankrupt?

I really don’t know if that jar ghost is the Dragon King. Then you just regulate the ginseng temperature and humidity.

- No... if I could do that would my nose be pierced next to you now...?

Speaking so pitifully even the strength to refute disappears. Ha. Stupid guy. Has the intelligence even degenerated to beast level from being attached to beast bodies all year round?

Anyway even if he says that, Qing smugglers are smuggling ginseng from Joseon just fine.

However there was no reason to say ‘since playing with Qing guys is enough you are not needed’ right now for no reason.

Because I want to assign a much bigger role to Im Sangok, no to the Joseon merchants behind Im Sangok.

- What role?

Emerging bourgeoisie class.

To raise Joseon’s purchasing power, I must lead Joseon to a modern capitalist country with my perfect consulting.

In the process of collapsing Joseon’s ancien régime and achieving modernization of course the existing vested interest yangban class won’t just sit and die. Since I as a foreigner can’t command that process at the forefront I must find the driving force of change inside Joseon.

Catholics full of resentment toward the Joseon government.

And northwest people whose resentment is also bone-deep.

Here intellectuals full of problem consciousness of ‘is this a country?’ and pioneers who opened their eyes to enlightenment.

This is too huge a big picture, for now I must faithfully build up the collaborative relationship with Joseon merchants first. Because I don’t want Spanish-style colonies that ignorantly set fire and plunder!

- Ah, yes. I see...

“My eyes seem to open wide at elder’s high opinion. Then perhaps can we seek advice when transporting ginseng?”

“I also of course have a great heart to help juniors, but the national law is strict so what can one do?”

“As far as I know, when Joseon merchants sell ginseng in Beijing they couldn’t even receive thirty nyang at most for one geun at 25 nyang, and sometimes sold at a cheap price of 10 nyang.”

In Im Sangok’s eyes curiosity and competitive spirit of ‘look at this bastard?’, and a little pity were visible. When the customer was thought to be a complete outsider knowing nothing but pierces the market price all business guys get that kind of eyes.

- What’s the pity again?

Pity coming from it being hard to rip off. Isn’t it obvious. That’s why a gentleman first hits the merchant and sees.

“But according to what we Western merchants trading in southern China hear, if one goes deep into the Chinese interior there are also countless cases of calling 100 nyang, 200 nyang for one geun of ginseng.

How can there be propriety here when those Chinese merchants take all the fruits of Joseon people’s sweat?”

“Hehe. We are also merchants so what can one do? Since we can’t directly carry ginseng to that distant Sichuan, Yunnan the profits falling to them that much is also a natural thing.”

“If one sells ginseng via us it is not a difficult thing at all.”

Im Sangok no longer mentioned trivial things like national law.

Why is ginseng selling expensively now?

Because ginseng is spotlighted as an opium treatment.

And too obvious words, but since opium is a thing that evil Americans and French people disguise as British and sell, of course the closer to the open ports the more addicts there are.

- They are your country’s people. Why innocent Americans...

Shut up. The fact that the British Empire sold opium to the point of starting a war is definitely all America’s historical distortion.

Places with demand are of course expensive.

I have confidence to sell at 50 to 100 nyang just by selling in newly opened Shanghai, Hong Kong, Fuzhou etc. If I can’t sell I have to bite my tongue and die.

I proposed ‘how about quitting the trade following the envoy group that doesn’t even make money and joining the enjoyable maritime ginseng trade together with the British Empire?’

Whether to accept this proposal or not now depends on him.

“As a merchant it is a very attractive story, but the country’s prohibition law is strict so nothing can be done.”

- This.

No. It can’t end like this.

Im Sangok rambled only trivial miscellaneous talk for a while.

Who one studied learning under, what kind of place the West is, how Joseon was, what was impressive in Joseon etc.

I carefully moistened my mouth with spit and rambled praise about Joseon’s beautiful scenery and overflowing humanity, handsome Joseon people, and on the other hand quietly rambled a few words about the West’s powerful strength and financial power, and the political system very different from the East.

How long did we chatter stories like that.

“Seeing that the Way is firmly stuck in your heart I have something I want to earnestly request. Is it okay?”

“What is it. If there is something I can help with I will of course help.”

“Due to successive wars and bad harvests children who lost parents overflowed everywhere. Fortunately I have a little wealth so I fed and slept these children, and sometimes sent them to those who need workers and prepared a livelihood for the children.”

I nodded.

“Among them some children harbored intentions toward the sea so I want to teach them a bit of ship work, perhaps if possible can you teach a bit the method of steering Western ships or the method of working as sailors?”

“What words are those. Please send them comfortably. If they learn ship work of course and Western language and writing they will surely be able to be greatly used later.”

Joseon greatly despises ship work. Because if one dies falling into the sea one can’t even write a grave properly.

And Joseon is greatly wary of Westerners with sharp eyes. I wear a gat and know Joseon language and am even handsome so it still works.

But learning ship work?

I guarantee.

They are children of rebel families involved in Hong Gyeongrae’s Rebellion or Catholics.

And really really it is not something Im Sangok intended.

They will surely know about the ginseng transport method too.

***

All supplies ended, and the Joseon government’s settlement also ended.

“Can’t you do it on credit?”

At the very end of the end the Joseon court beat around the bush but ultimately brought up that story. Because even with ginseng paying the price was tight.

I deducted all the food expenses and lodging expenses our sailors ate, and the costs used to employ workers, and agreed to this credit transaction after agreeing to receive supply of food and drinking water from Joseon even when coming again later. Practically Joseon opened its doors limited to this Arthur Lee or the same.

With this the departure preparation ended.

And right before departure.

A few small boats absolutely not sent by Im Sangok secretly approached in the middle of the night, and loaded boxes full of red ginseng onto the <​Henry>.

And the workers who carried the luggage from the small boats to the Henry ship instead of returning to the boats stuffed their bodies into the hold as is.

“Where is the next destination?”

“Let’s go to Hong Kong.”

Right next to Hong Kong is Macau.

And there are Joseon Catholics including Kim Daegun.

The next recruitment target.

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Author's note

Thank you to Myeongwon Pizza for your sponsorship!!